How to Start as a Locum GP in Australia

Starting out as a locum GP in Australia involves more than booking your first shift. Before you see a single patient independently, you need to satisfy AHPRA registration requirements, hold a valid Medicare provider number for every workplace, register an ABN, meet the GST threshold rules, and secure compliant medical indemnity cover. This guide walks through each step in plain language, with the key figures and primary sources so you can move confidently.

General information only, not personal financial or tax advice.

Step 1: AHPRA Registration and the Medical Board of Australia

All medical practitioners in Australia must hold current registration with the Medical Board of Australia, administered by AHPRA. For GPs, the relevant categories are general registration and, for those who have completed Fellowship training, specialist registration as a specialist general practitioner.

Key registration facts:

Registration must be renewed annually through the AHPRA online portal.
The Medical Board requires a minimum of 50 hours of CPD per year, combining educational activities, reviewing performance, and measuring outcomes.
AHPRA conducts a criminal history check as part of every application; the cost is included in the application fee.
Holding current AHPRA registration is a prerequisite for Medicare eligibility. Lapsed registration means you cannot legally practise or bill Medicare until it is reinstated.

Check the AHPRA Registration Standards for the current list of mandatory standards including recency of practice and professional indemnity registration.

Step 2: Medicare Provider Numbers via Services Australia

A Medicare provider number is location-specific: you need a separate number for each workplace at which you intend to bulk bill or process Medicare claims. You cannot bill Medicare without one.

Eligibility for a GP provider number is set out in section 19AA of the Health Insurance Act 1973. To qualify you must be vocationally recognised (FRACGP, FACRRM, or equivalent), registered on the Vocational Register with general AHPRA registration, or registered in an approved training placement.

Overseas-trained doctors and foreign graduates are subject to a 10-year moratorium on unrestricted Medicare access under section 19AB. Exemptions apply for work in Distribution Priority Areas (DPAs), which is relevant if you are targeting rural or underserved communities.

How to apply:

Create a PRODA account and access Health Professional Online Services (HPOS).
Complete the HW019 form for each workplace address.
Allow up to 28 days for processing. Apply well ahead of your first shift, especially between December and April when volumes are high.

There is no limit on the number of provider numbers you can hold, so regular locums typically accumulate several over time.

Step 3: ABN and GST Registration

As a locum GP working on contract, you operate as a self-employed sole trader and must hold an Australian Business Number (ABN). Registering an ABN is free via the Australian Business Register.

Once your annual turnover from all ABN work reaches $75,000, you are required to register for GST within 21 days and begin lodging a Business Activity Statement (BAS), typically quarterly. Locum service fees are generally taxable supplies (not GST-free), meaning once you are registered you add 10% GST to your invoices and remit that GST to the ATO after each BAS period.

Note that GST-free health services under the GST Act relate to services delivered directly to patients, not the locum's fee charged to a clinic or agency. Most active locum GPs will cross the $75,000 threshold quickly, so plan for GST registration from day one.

The ATO also automatically enrols self-employed practitioners in PAYG instalments after their first year of ABN income. Setting aside 30 to 35 per cent of each payment for tax obligations is a widely recommended starting point; for practitioners with combined income above $190,000 this increases toward 45 per cent.

Step 4: Medical Indemnity Insurance

AHPRA requires all registered medical practitioners to hold compliant medical indemnity insurance as a condition of registration. You cannot renew your registration without it.

The main Australian providers for GPs are MDA National and MIPS. Premiums for GP indemnity typically range from around $5,000 to $15,000 per year, depending on scope of practice, whether you perform procedural work, and your claims history. GPs performing minor surgery or obstetric work pay more.

When you are working through an agency, confirm whether the agency carries their own cover and whether that cover extends to you, or whether you need your own individual policy. In almost all cases, individual cover is the safer position and the one AHPRA expects.

Step 5: Finding Work and Understanding Rates

Most locum GPs start through a specialist locum agency such as Alecto Australia, Medrecruit, or Healthcare Australia, or through direct outreach to GP-owned clinics and corporate groups. Agencies handle credentialing checks and can place you quickly, but they take a margin from the billing.

Current market rates (2025-26) vary widely by location and billing structure:

Metro clinics: typically 65% of billings, or a guaranteed rate around $130 to $150 per hour for new arrangements.
Daily rates: $1,500 to $2,200 per day in metropolitan areas; $2,200 to $3,000+ per day in rural and remote areas.
Peak demand: rates are higher during school holidays, flu season, and in communities with declared doctor shortages.

Rural and remote shifts attract a premium partly because of the DPA moratorium exemption system, which actively restricts supply of overseas-trained GPs in well-serviced areas. That same shortage is your leverage if you are VR and willing to travel.

Your invoices should include your ABN, your GST registration status, the clinic's details, and clear payment terms. Most clinics pay within 7 to 14 days. Late payment is common, so setting up automatic payment reminders saves time.

Step 6: Superannuation as a Self-Employed Locum

When you work on an ABN, no employer pays super on your behalf. The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate is 12% for the 2025-26 financial year, the final step-up under current legislation, but as a sole trader this obligation falls entirely on you to fund voluntarily.

The concessional contributions cap is $32,500 per year for 2026-27. Contributions within this cap (including any employer SG if you also hold a part-time salaried role) are taxed at a flat 15% inside your fund rather than at your marginal rate, making super one of the most tax-effective structures available to high-earning locums. If you have unused cap space from prior years, the carry-forward rules allow you to make catch-up contributions.

How Sessional Helps

Sessional's GP dashboard is built for exactly this structure. Once you connect your shifts, it tracks your cumulative ABN earnings against the $75,000 GST threshold, automatically flags when registration is due, and pre-fills your BAS figures each quarter. The earnings and tax-reserve dashboard keeps a running estimate of your ATO liability so you are never caught short. The super tracker logs your voluntary contributions and shows the gap to the concessional cap in real time. You can generate a compliant invoice with your ABN and GST details in seconds using the invoice template tool, with automatic payment chasers built in. AHPRA registration expiry and CPD hours are tracked on the same screen, so nothing lapses quietly.

See how it works or explore pricing.

Sources

locum GPAHPRA registrationMedicare provider numberABNGSTmedical indemnitygetting started